Isabella seemed taken aback by my refusal, tears welled up in her eyes — albeit they were tears of embarrassment; I could easily tell that she wasn't used to being rejected. I debated leaving the office, but finally she spoke up."You don't love me anymore, Thane.""I think I've had about enough of this; it's time you leave.""So you are going to push me away? After everything?""Well now you are making me believe you are crazy.""Don't pretend like you don't know what I speak about. You had the suspicions, but I turned them down. When I told you I forgot my memories, I hadn't been exactly truthful. I don't know what happened these past years, but all I could remember was being with you.""What are you trying to say?""I am trying to say I am the very same woman you loved; I am Bella.""Don't you dare..."She cut me off. "I can prove it to you. We met in the woods. At first, I ran away from you because I knew I was going to die. I didn't want to hurt you, but you were persistent, and
RILEY"There's something I need to tell you." Thane said to me, his tone calm but I could sense the gravity of his words, and I gave him my full attention."Earlier, I told you that I had been seeing my father.""Yes, you did." I prompted him to go on."He wasn't the only dead person ‘visiting.""Thane, I think about Axel too; sometimes I dream about him. I understand that." I said to him, already knowing where this was heading to."No, it’s not Axel— that wouldn't have been a problem. It's Bella, my… dead mate. Though she only visits my dreams, it still worries me; I hadn't dreamed about her in years, and all of a sudden she is all I dream about, and in this dream... it's always like we were still together, just how it had been before she died.""Thane, I trust you. I know you don't love her, and it's just the deities trying to mess with your head, but I know you love me, and I love you too. The fact that you see your dead mate in your dreams doesn't mean a damn thing." I assured him
Now it all made sense. Thane's reaction to Isabella finally made sense.I was mad, angry, and jealous, and I had every right to be. After Bella's death, Thane had been in so much pain, he couldn't bear it all alone, and that had been the very same reason he shut everyone out; it had taken so many years for him to move on, but the effect of her death remained, even till today. So I didn't exactly believe that he could just... Stop loving her.I paused in the hallways; hesitating for a moment before taking a turn, I headed to the room Isabella occupied. I knocked once, and she opened the door. I didn't wait for an invitation; I pushed past her and walked into her room. She shut the door before turning to me. There was a small frown on her tiny doll-like face. Her red hair had been made into a messy bun; she was beautiful, and I couldn't deny it, and despite myself, I felt an ache in my chest. Thane never spoke of how beautiful 'Bella' had actually been."I know why you are here," she s
"How did you get in here?" I questioned him."Let's skip that part. I was hoping you would ask why I was here.""Well then, why are you here?" I asked him."I needed to apologize.""It doesn't work that way, and I don't appreciate you showing up in my home, Bruce.""I know, and if I will try not to do that next time —if there ever has to be a next time. I didn't handle things well when you came to visit; I had been too brash and... cold. For this reason, I ask for your forgiveness.""Got it. You can leave now.""I know you wanted an explanation, but I didn't give you one...""Bruce, I don't really care, not anymore; all I need is some time alone.""I would leave, but I went through a lot to be here, and so I need you to hear me out.""You have one minute, and your time starts now.""I do have an explanation; there is a reason I had to stay away from you, but the problem is I cannot tell it to you.""If I may ask, why?""I just can't. But I want you to know that I did care for your mo
“I didn’t tell my mother about... you.” I said to him, “I didn’t do it for you though, but for her. She has moved on, Bruce; she’s in love now, and she is happy, it will remain that way.” “You did the right thing. It has been so many years; she deserves to be happy.”“She does.”“I don’t expect your forgiveness...”“I don’t plan on giving you that. What I am interested in knowing is what exactly you are. I know you aren’t a werewolf.”“You are right; I am not. I am a warlock.“A warlock?” I repeated.“Yes, similar to a sorcerer but also... different in some way. A sorcerer is born with magic flowing through their veins, but a warlock isn’t born with magic; we earn it, and for this reason, we operate on a different level.”“That’s how you were able to make Mom forget about you.”“Yes. It was a simple spell.”“When you made her forget about you, why did you compel her to believe Slade was my father?”“Because I knew it would make her hate him even more, and hate is one strong emotion;
THANEI remained in the garden. Maybe this hadn't been the right time to tell her about Bella.She was right.While I didn't love Bella anymore, I still cared, and it felt wrong.At that moment, I felt like something was wrong. It had been pure instincts but I felt the need to check up on Riley so I hurried back to the room we shared.She might need her space, but she was pregnant, and she needed company, just in case anything happened...She wasn't in the room.I moved to the bathroom, and there I saw the blood on the tile.Damn.I had been heading to the healers when I met Daisy halfway there. "What's wrong?""The Luna is in labor."That's all it took, and I was sprinting to the healing room.Riley had been placed on the bed; sweat coated her face — maybe it was tears. I walked to her holding her hands in mine."You are going to be fine." I assured her."It's not yet time; I don't know why this is happening to me.""We will get through this together, okay." I said to her, and she n
RILEYThane never left; not once in the next three days. He used the bathroom in the healing room instead.I felt so weak and tired; Daisy said I should be getting better, but I most definitely wasn't. At least the child survived, even if it would take a few more months for me to see him again. I tried lifting my hand, and it did take some effort for such a petty task."Thane, you know you could go to work...""No, nothing is more important than you and right now you need me here.""But I am fine Thane, the pack needs you too." I said to him, I did notice Regnux visits; there was work to be done, but Thane didn't want to leave me alone, I could handle myself for a few hours — maybe I'll try not to trip on my own foot while I lay on the bed."I'll only be gone for a few hours, and I'll be right back," he promised."It's alright."..Exactly an hour after Thane was gone, the door was pulled open. I had thought it was Daisy, and so I didn't bother, but then the figure got close enough.
Daisy walked into the healing room; I could see the instant alarm in her eyes the moment she spotted Gloria's corpse."Daisy." I called silently, but her eyes wouldn't leave the corpse."Let me take care of this." Daemon said to me. I feared for a moment that he would kill her, but he doesn't; instead he... kisses her. To my surprise, she kisses him back. "You won't tell anyone about this, would you, Daisy?" "I won't, if you don't want me to.""Good girl. Now go get the Alpha, make no mention of this to anyone."She nodded before walking away and shutting the door behind her. "What did you do to her?""Nothing, at all.""She… likes you?""Obsessed is a better word.""You shouldn't use her that way.""Riley, she wants to be used.".Just like Daisy, Thane paused the moment he saw Gloria, dead; of course, he knew how exactly this happened, the puncture marks marring her skin was all the explanation he needed."I'm sorry." I said to him, and those amber eyes trailed down on me."Did yo
We were both in tears, but there was something about the way he looked—so vulnerable, so helpless, so pained. I couldn’t bear to watch; I looked away."I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I’m so fucking sorry. I told her—I told her that no matter what, I would never hurt you, even if it meant choosing between my sister and you.My sister could be dead for all I knew. But every time I felt like I had already done too much wrong, I told myself—what was one more bad deed to add to the cart? Your father had been like a father to me—that’s how he so easily picked up on the fact that something was wrong. He tried to talk to me about it, and I felt so guilty. But you have to understand—one way or another, Cynthia would have killed him. She was never going to let him live."“That doesn’t make you any less of a murderer. That doesn’t make you any less of a criminal.You know, I had thought of all the things I could do to you—all the ways I could kill you slowly and painfully. But now that I’
Chaos erupted—people spoke over one another, everyone desperate to be heard."Enough," I snarled. “You bicker like children. I am not for one side or the other—this pack is one, and everyone will be treated equally. You’re right that I don’t deserve this position, but…” I paused, weighing my next words. “The Alpha will return” I assured them. Keith spat on the ground. "That's a lie, and you know it. You did something to him, and he's not coming back."I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “I did what I did to help him!” I hated the fact that I lost it, but I felt the need to let them know. “I love him, and I will never stop loving him.”“And yet here you are, taking his title and taking over his pack. You didn’t do this for love, but greed—greed for power. What you fail to realize is that you might claim the title as yours, but loyalty and respect are not passed down; they’re earned.” Keith finished; with one cold glance at me, he turned around and walked away. Many others followed.“You ca
KADIA’S POVThe whole pack had gathered before me—some drawn by curiosity, others eager to know what would happen next.I looked upon the faces of those I had to protect, their lives resting in my hands. One wrong decision, and they would all suffer. I couldn’t let that happen.Austin and Phil sat on either side of me, on the platform overlooking the pack members.After the incident with Sarah, her body had been disposed of. I supposed I should feel bad that she hadn’t been given a proper burial, but I couldn’t bring myself to. She was a traitor, and she had died a traitor. News of her betrayal had spread through the pack, giving people even more to gossip about. Aric deserved the same fate. I should have killed him—made his death slow and painful. I might have once considered Sarah a friend, but Aric… I had seen him as family. His betrayal cut the deepest, yet I couldn’t bring myself to expose his treachery—not until I heard everything he had to say. For now, he rotted in the cold, d
I awoke in bed, wrapped in a blanket—but beneath it, I was completely naked. Daemon lay beside me.“I’m sorry.” He said, “I lost control.”I recalled passing out and couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. “That wasn’t on you. It was my fault.”“Not really. You passed out from blood loss. I should have fed before, but I had never tasted any blood as sweet as yours,” he said.“That feels and sounds like a compliment.”A small smile played on his lips. “Now, everything else tastes like dirt.”“You’re always welcome to drink from me.”“No. I’m not putting you through that.”I reached for my neck, and the bruise from his fangs was almost completely gone. “How…?”“You don’t have to worry about that,” he said.I nodded, rising from the bed.“You shouldn’t…”I didn’t listen. The moment my feet touched the floor, my legs gave out. He caught me instantly and placed me back on the bed.“You are severely sore.” He said, and I could almost see the guilt in his eyes. Not many things made him feel guil
I stood there for a moment, watching him, aware of every inch between us.I stepped closer. "Daem—Trian, I..." The words wouldn’t come. I wasn’t sure if I was afraid of saying them or if I simply didn’t know how. So instead, I rose onto my tiptoes, reaching for him. But he was too tall, and my lips only grazed his jaw.I lingered, searching his face, hoping he would understand what I couldn’t say.“For a demon, you have a surprising amount of self-control.""Every moment with you pushes me closer to losing it.""Then why didn’t you? Why didn’t you make a move?""After what I did to you, I have no right to touch you."I watched his fangs as he spoke, then lifted my gaze to meet his. Once again, he knew exactly what I wanted. He bared his fangs, allowing me to touch them. Their tips were so sharp that with just a little more pressure, they could have easily pierced my finger. Like everything about him, his fangs were both beautiful and terrifying—they scared me just as much as they amaz
On our way out, more women stared. It was getting unnerving—I wanted to snap at them.I was tempted to show them he was mine by wrapping my arms around his torso, but I wasn’t sure he would like that. He had never been one for such close contact, so I kept my hands to myself. But as if he could read my mind, he wrapped his arm around me—possessively.I stared up at him in surprise."I’m on my best behavior, but if those guys don’t stop undressing you with their eyes, I might have to reconsider," he said. I followed his line of sight, and sure enough, about five guys stood there, watching me. The moment Daemon’s gaze fell on them, they quickly walked away.“You don’t seem to be noticing how almost every female in the building is checking you out.” I said, and his eyes met mine again, making me realize that he truly hadn’t noticed them. How was that even possible? Some had walked past him multiple times just to get a single look from him, I couldn’t help but feel a little sympathy for t
I had never seen anything like this place; it felt more… alive. This had been all I wanted, and here I was. Free of the castle and out in the open. The world was far bigger than I could ever know—far more diverse too. I didn’t realize I was smiling until I noticed his eyes on me. His attention was no longer on the road ahead of us. "It's beautiful," I said after a moment.“I would have done this sooner if I knew how happy it would make you.”"Daemon, thank you for doing this," I said, and for a moment, our eyes locked. I reddened and looked away. "Where are we going?" I asked to fill the silence."To watch a movie. It’s a rewrite of Romeo and Juliet," he said.For some reason, I couldn’t help but laugh."What?" he questioned."Who would have thought? The Demon Overlord watches movies.""I like to see myself as a normal person at times.""But there is nothing normal about you.""I've been good since we arrived here. That should win me some points in normality, shouldn't it?"“Yes, I gu
The mist disappeared, giving way to a completely different location. Daemon’s hand steadied me.“Are you alright?” he asked. I could only nod. Our ‘travel’ had been one of the strangest experiences I had ever encountered.“Where are we?” I asked, scanning the unfamiliar surroundings.“In a museum.”I glanced around, noting the towering dinosaur skeleton, the paintings, and the sculptures. The more I observed, the more I appreciated the beauty of each piece. This museum was unlike anything I had ever seen, it fascinated me.“That painting… it’s so beautiful,” I said to Daemon.“Yes, it is,” he agreed. Daemon had his hands shoved in his pockets, standing still while I moved around, gushing over the beautiful artifacts. “Humans have this obsession with preserving things from the past.”I paused.“Humans?” I repeated. He nodded.“If you haven’t noticed, we’ve traveled far from home.” He took my hands in his and led me to the door. A guard sat in a small booth, his posture relaxed—until h
ALIYA’S POVDaemon had kept his distance, reminding me once again of the times back at the castle when he would withdraw into himself. He had a lot on his mind, none of which he was willing to share with me.I didn’t miss the fact that he seemed to enjoy my company, even though he never made a move on me—and I wasn’t sure how that made me feel. As the days went by, I found myself settling into this ‘new life.’ It didn’t seem so… bad, now that I knew Daemon wasn’t about to end my life anytime soon. But there was still one problem—Tasha.It didn’t take a genius to see that she was jealous. Daemon fed from her, but beyond that, she was just another person living in his house. He never seemed to look at her twice, despite her efforts. The twins were nicer, but they mostly kept to themselves. Tasha had no interest in making friends with them—or with me, for that matter.Today, something changed.Lying on the bed in Daemon's room, I felt trapped. It shouldn’t have bothered me—I had lived my